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Am I insane?

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 2:31 pm
by lawschool2014hopeful
Am I going insane/studying too much/burning out, or does everyone find the higher 50s (57+) are significantly harder than those previously, across all sections. Games has more tricks, L.R takes slightly longer, and R.C texts are harder to conceptualize easily.

Re: Am I insane?

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 2:34 pm
by gaud
Take a day or two off man. Don't think about the LSAT at all. Relax, drink some brews, sleep in. Then come back and see how you feel.

ETA: ^ if you feel like you're burning out

Re: Am I insane?

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 3:15 pm
by freekitten
The newest tests ARE trickier, IMHO. I know it sucks....

Re: Am I insane?

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 3:31 pm
by Zensack
I was really feeling the fatigue too, but I accidentally took Friday off by playing Minecraft for ten hours straight. I feel a lot better now.

Re: Am I insane?

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 11:39 am
by cahwc12
One thing that got me on game day in June was that LR was definitively a little harder earlier on, and RC's first passage (now that I've retaken it) definitely seemed a bit more difficult than the 2nd passage. Late in one of the LRs there was an absolute cupcake question in the early 20's that could pass for #1 on any other test. Just be prepared for anything, and nothing is going to surprise you after a while.

I'm not sure if it was intentional (which it probably was), but I do know that now I'm prepared for it if it happens again in October.

The more practice you do, the better prepared you will be. Every time you spot a weakness, try to see what you can do to mitigate or even eliminate it altogether.

While you could be studying too much and may need a day off, I do think that the tests overall in that range are a bit more difficult, but not unreasonably so.

I would rather see a more difficult, more straightforward question than one that relied on just being some kind of mental trick or difficult content, which is what many difficult questions seemed to tend toward on older tests--and that is exactly what the LSAT writers seem to also believe.


Also, riddled basins.

Re: Am I insane?

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 11:57 am
by wingedwolf
Ughhh, I've been feeling the same way. :( :x I hear ya bro! It sucks!

Re: Am I insane?

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 2:43 pm
by CorkBoard
jimmierock wrote:Am I going insane/studying too much/burning out, or does everyone find the higher 50s (57+) are significantly harder than those previously, across all sections. Games has more tricks, L.R takes slightly longer, and R.C texts are harder to conceptualize easily.
Not crazy. I noticed the same thing, and it's been echoed on this site a lot. The tests get harder as the numbers get higher, with a few exceptions.

Re: Am I insane?

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 5:27 pm
by Jeffort
wingedwolf wrote:Ughhh, I've been feeling the same way. :( :x I hear ya bro! It sucks!
Do not dread the LSAT. Instead, love the test. Your attitude about it influences study practices and test-day performance.

Taking practice tests and the one that matters on test day should not be torture or something to fear. It's just another test of the same stuff you have been studying and practicing for a while. The LSAT is carefully designed to test peoples ability to read critically and think logically, not to cause pain.

It's not an easy test to achieve a high score on since there is a lot involved, but hating/dreading it is an incorrect mindset during preparation if you want to perform well when it counts and goes on your record.

Re: Am I insane?

Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 9:20 am
by bananashotgun
I've found the LG to be more difficult but as mentioned in another thread, it seems that there aren't as many game-breaking inferences as earlier tests and it's more of trudging through the answers which I'm not used to because I did a lot of prepping in the 40s/early 50s.

other than that the LR and RC seem of similar difficulty to me. i've used RC from earlier tests as experimentals for more recent tests and do about the same.

LR is definitely a little different, but I do about equally well.

Re: Am I insane?

Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 9:30 am
by TomThompson
Nope. They have been getting harder. Between 50-56, I was averaging around 168. Just did PT 57, 58 and scored 164, 163 and was very frustrated. New day though.

Re: Am I insane?

Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 9:35 am
by tino1317
I havent really noticed a big difference but one thing I would recommend if you feel burned out is to remember to always get a good nights sleep. I noticed my scores were 3-4 points lower on days when I felt like I didnt get enough rest. If you have trouble falling asleep, weightlifting or exercise in general is a great way to keep your sleep pattern normal.

Re: Am I insane?

Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 10:05 am
by gg2
Nope you aren't crazy. The superprep-type days are over... and the RC in recent tests especially have been killer. LG's are all closer in range of difficulty (As opposed to before: really easy G1 and hard G3 or G4). LR: LSAT people learned how to better disguise those typical flaws (e.g. correlation-causation).

Re: Am I insane?

Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 1:00 pm
by RCinDNA
Same boat. I was constantly worried about the test and wasn't getting enough rest. I think it's burn out and not a loss of sanity. At this point, I don't even want to complain about it because I think that just puts me in a bad head space.